Daily Deals: A few mysteries with romantic subplots and a older contemporary romantic suspense

In the latest mystery in the New York Times bestselling series, Maisie Dobbs must unravel a case of wartime love and death—an investigation that leads her to a long-hidden affair between a young cartographer and a mysterious nurse.

August 1914. Michael Clifton is mapping the land he has just purchased in California’s beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, certain that oil lies beneath its surface. But as the young cartographer prepares to return home to Boston, war is declared in Europe. Michael—the youngest son of an expatriate Englishman—puts duty first and sails for his father’s native country to serve in the British army. Three years later, he is listed among those missing in action.

April 1932. London psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs is retained by Michael’s parents, who have recently learned that their son’s remains have been unearthed in France. They want Maisie to find the unnamed nurse whose love letters were among Michael’s belongings—a quest that takes Maisie back to her own bittersweet wartime love. Her inquiries, and the stunning discovery that Michael Clifton was murdered in his trench, unleash a web of intrigue and violence that threatens to engulf the soldier’s family and even Maisie herself. Over the course of her investigation, Maisie must cope with the approaching loss of her mentor, Maurice Blanche, and her growing awareness that she is once again falling in love.

Following the critically acclaimed bestseller Among the Mad, The Mapping of Love and Death delivers the most gripping and satisfying chapter yet in the life of Maisie Dobbs.

I wonder if it wouldn’t be best to read at least the first in the Maisie Dobb’s series before reading this one. The reviews indicate that a major development happens to Maisie in this book that marks a turning point in her life.

Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country’s vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera’s most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening — until a band of gunwielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers.

From an Amazon review “Joined by no common language except music, the 58 international hostages and their captors forge unexpected bonds. Time stands still, priorities rearrange themselves. Ultimately, of course, something has to give, even in a novel so imbued with the rich imaginative potential of magic realism. But in a fractious world, Bel Canto remains a gentle reminder of the transcendence of beauty and love.”

So Carlotta Wren’s life hasn’t turned out as she’d planned. She didn’t plan for her parents to skip bail for a white-collar crime, leaving her to raise her brother. She didn’t plan on having the silver spoon ripped from her mouth and forgoing college to work retail. She didn’t plan on her blue-blood fiancé dumping her. And she didn’t plan on still being single ten years later, working at Neiman Marcus, with no idea where her fugitive parents are. But she’s coping. Until—

—her lovable brother is arrested, and the hunky cop decides to reopen her parents’ case.

—her brother becomes a body mover for the morgue, and his sexy boss gets Carlotta involved.

I decided to use the name Geraldine Brunton. It’s not the name I was born with, nor the name I married, but it will hide who I really am…and what I have done.

I’ve taken a job as companion to wealthy invalid Emmaline Stubbs, whose fragile exterior hides a will of iron. Despite its opulence, the Stubbs household is not a happy one. Emmaline’s equally stubborn daughter and charismatic, untrustworthy son-in-law want control of her fortune, forcing the entire staff to take sides in their power struggle. I must tread carefully in this tension-filled household if I want to keep my job and my secrets.

Events take a deadly turn when Mrs. Stubbs is nearly killed and a maid is found murdered. Though I ought to keep a low profile, it soon becomes clear I must uncover the truth. Because if I don’t, my past will make me the prime suspect…

I wonder if this series would be like the P.B. Ryan historical mysteries featuring Nell Sweeney. The reviews are very good for this mystery series and I’m not sure if the series will end in an HEA but it sounds a) good and b) different.

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Jane Litte is the founder of Dear Author, a lawyer, and a lover of pencil skirts. She self publishes NA and contemporaries (and publishes with Berkley and Montlake) and spends her downtime reading romances and writing about them. Her TBR pile is much larger than the one shown in the picture and not as pretty.
You can reach Jane by email at jane @ dearauthor dot com

I’m sold on Maisie Dobbs, and will be reading in order ;)
I was going to say Bel Canto is indescribable, but the amazon review does quite a good job.
Has anyone read the Stephanie Bond or Janis Petterson? Both sound good, but I’m wary of Evanovich-itis, and I’ve never heard of the second author.

Today’s Kindle Daily Deal (in the US at least) is J. G. Farrell’s The Siege of Krishnapur. It won the Booker Prize and is about the 1857 Mutiny in India, seen from the perspective of the British there. It’s part of a trilogy Farrell wrote about British imperialism, and it’s highly readable and witty (in addition to having obviously serious themes).

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